Duc2V4

4 orders short. SF and I are going to get together this weekend and figure out a plan. We really want to get this going already but have the small hurdle. We'll keep you all posted, please bear with us a little longer, it will pay off, I'm positive.

I get it. When I bought my 09 back in 2011 (346 miles on her), I thought I would keep it stock, but slowly and surely a mod here, a mode there and in all honesty, the headers were going to be my final mod...so I thought. After 100k plus miles, the 6 Gen engine started to burn coolant, rather than get the motor fixed, I bought a used 5 Gen for the motor and stuck that in the 09 frame, so now I have my 09 with a 5 Gen motor, it's still my commuter and sometimes canyon bike and in all honesty, she is no slouch! I actually use to use my 5 Gen at the track a lot, as I use to do corner working for the California Superbike School and the 5 Gen just became my "play" bike. Lots of canyon carving and then lots of track riding, both bikes seem to hold their own, but the BMW S1000R bikes the school uses do haul a$$ but I'm not far behind and usually pass them in the corners (a weak spot with most students). Anyway, it's your bike and your call. Cheers, D

And from the 8 Gen run...Bike pic to show 8 Gen version, which is slightly different.

From the 6 Gen run...

If I recall these came from some Dyno runs done by sfdownhill with his 5 Gen and a friends 6 Gen, and a fellow member who loaned his 8 Gen for some test runs. Unfortunately I don't think there are before/after, but I'd have to check with SF, as these were done right after the first production run. These are from 2019. The images I have say "comparison" but I don't remember the details, it was a while ago and before my brain surgery, so I do question my memory sometimes now. This is the 5 Gen run.

I knew I had the figures on header weight and found them after the last post. OEM Headers with Catalytic converter: 13.94 lbs. (All 6 Gens, 00-01 5 Gens) OEM Headers without Catalytic converter: 10.38 lbs. (98-99 5 Gens) Our headers : 9.88 lbs.

I believe that we are 4 orders short of the minimum. As for the gains, as some said already, more HP. I have a set on both my VFRs, an 01 and an 09 (5 Gen and 6 Gen). There is also a weight reduction, although the weight drop for 5 Gens without the catalytic converter is a few pounds difference but you'll lose a little bit more for the 6 Gen, due to the loss of the catalytic converter. If Dyno tuning is your concern, for both the Power Commander and the Rapid Bike tuning modules, you can use their "Auto Tune" feature. Essentially you use their software and setup your "targets" and let the auto tune do it's job. That's how I have both of mine running. There's also the possibility that someone has a map that they uploaded to this site and you can use that to get a baseline, but a proper Dyno tune is most likely going to be a preferred option after doing that, if going that route. Another positive, being made of stainless steel, rust is not a big concern anymore. Ultimately, the header primary pipes are much larger and flow more than the stock pipes, especially for the 6 Gen bikes, as their headers are smaller diameter than the 5 Gens and are more "restrictive" due to the smaller pipes and catalytic converter. Although I am part of the team that helped get these headers out to the VFR community, I'm also a buyer and user of them, and would not hesitate buying these, even if I was not involved with the project. In fact, I am buying another set this round too, they are a gift for a very good friend who just reported to me that he is now Cancer free. As for the sound, I have 2Bros cans on both VFRs and the can is more relative to the sound than the headers, at least I feel that in my case. Here's a recent video I took of my 5 Gen last Sunday after doing some work on the throttle bodies and wax idle unit. IMG_7947.mp4

Really close but Wade is adamant about meeting the minimum order before moving forward. That said, I need to check in with SF and see what else we might be able to do to speed things up. We'll keep you posted.

You can send me and/or fellow member sfdownhill a PM. We are the two members involved in getting these to production. SF did most of the work finding and getting them made, my main support comes from my past life as a shipping/receiving clerk, I'm the guy who gets them out to you good folks.

Yeah, that’s my friend Lyle’s bike. He actually rents that out. He just got the ignition fixed, so he wanted to test ride it before putting it back up for rental.

So, not saying I actually rode anywhere, cause that might not be quite legal just yet. However, I did get to spend some time with friends who do get to ride. Yesterday we found ourselves at Revzilla and The 'D-Store', which I call my store, for an obvious reason. Then we were able share a 30" pizza at a place called Trenta a few doors away from the D-Store. Anyway great food and great company. How one's bike found it's way there, I'm not sure but I think many can guess how! Although these are small steps folks, it is still progress. Cheers, D

As my moniker hints at, I also own a Ducati, a 1995 900SS/SP and although I typically do all my own service, I did seek outside resources for it a few months ago. As dealing with carb rebuilds and syncing them isn’t always quick and easy and didn’t feel like dealing with it since I recently stated a new job and it’s been keeping me real busy! But I digress, all of the Ducati dealers near me said something similar but their cut off was 20 years. I asked around amongst my friends and other fellow riders and found a place that came highly recommended, although a bit further away than I was looking for, none the less, they were able to accommodate my service request and were a pleasure to deal with. I’m sure Southern California is probably a bit different than other parts of the country when dealing with motorcycles, as our weather allows for more year round riding than other states, so service shops seem quite abundant out here. It’s always a good idea to ask around the locals and see if there are any shops that might be able to handle your service needs. Since the VFR engine hasn’t really changed much, finding certain parts for later year models ‘02+, might not be so difficult at the moment, if at all but eventually even Honda may stop production on some parts, but as long as parts are available, independent shops can service your bike without too many issues. BTW, the shop I took my Ducati to is called Iconic Motorbikes, let’s just say their moniker lives up to the name. When I picked up my bike, I saw no less than 4 Honda NR 750’s and even 2 RC213V’s, one still in the crate! Check them out https://iconicmotorbikeauctions.com/service/

Welcome aboard! Them red 5 Gens are just so hard not to love! I bought my first VFR in 2011, a black '09 but something told me I needed another one, a little older and in red. Prior to a little health "hiccup" I suffered, both bikes were ridden quite often, the '09 as a commuter and the '01 as my track/canyon weapon.

I actually did the So Cal Super Moto class last year, definitely fun stuff!

Yeah, no more screw ups! My wife has been very good at ensuring I'm following my medicine regiment, so we're looking good there.

Figured it was time for an update. So two things have happened since my last post. For starters, I did end up having another seizure in early April, albeit a small one. Ironically, it was just after my initial 90 day wait period. In all honesty though, it was 100% my fault. Not one for taking medication, particularly, one that has to be done daily, I missed a weekends worth. I should add though, that I have been feeling great and up until that point, felt like I never even had any seizure or surgery for that matter. Unfortunately, my brain was bruised enough from the first seizure, that even though the original threat was removed, and healing was doing good, the bruising was enough to give me the potential for further seizures. So missing my weekend dosage, was enough to trigger another seizure. That'll teach me to be more diligent and make sure I keep taking my medication. So I have corrected that bad behavior! and have a system in place so that I don't forget to take my medication. Currently, the medication is the one thing that will prevent further issues and hopefully get me to the finish line without any more pitfalls. The second thing, this is the good part. I had my follow up appointment with my Neurosurgeon and he said everything looks great, the skull has healed and the brain, although still a little bruised, looks to be healing up as well. So my obvious first question was..."So, do you think I could put on a motorcycle helmet again without worries?" His answer was somewhat what I expected. "Well, you can put on helmet again but don't suggest you ride just yet, maybe get your license reinstated first". When I told him I would most likely be doing track work not be on public roads, he was still hesitant to give his OK but none the less, preferred I don't do anything that might possibly cause further brain injury. Although I agreed with him on the latter part, I reassured him that I would not be doing anything too fast or wild to risk it. So what does this mean, it means I'm getting closer to my goal, and that is to get back on that horse and do what I enjoy doing. The only hiccup is that I reset the 90 day waiting period because of the small seizure I had in April. But knowing that things are looking better, I feel more relieved and I'm hoping the wait won't feel as long as these past few months. That's it for now. Cheers, D

Hello from Anaheim, CA. As for parts, I have not had issues finding any for both my 2001 and 2009 VFRs, although for the former, there are a few parts Honda have discontinued but the 09 and later models, Honda seems to have parts for still. That being said, I have also had good luck finding parts on the VFR forums and on eBay, when Honda deemed it necessary to discontinue them.That being said, getting an 8 Gen would probably give you a better line on parts being the bike is newer.

Well, not sure what the deal was but looks like things are working like they are supposed to. Actually took a while for the bike to get above 200F, so I am liking that. Also changed the radiator cap for good measure and that was really the last and only change that I did from the time I noticed the fan not coming on. Well, that and now it officially has coolant in the system not just distilled water. I did make sure the sensor switch was grounded, took an ohm meter and checked the body of the switch with frame ground and viola, had continuity. IMG_7778.MP4

Oddly, both my VFRs were used when I bought them. My 2009 6 Gen only had 346 miles on it when I bought it in 2011, so I consider it new! My 5 Gen had less than 30K miles, so it was still young when I bought it a few years later. As for how close we are to the minimum, were only a few away but a minimum of 15 is what Wade is asking for in order to get this further along.

I believe we only received 2 since the last update. We are just on the cusp of reaching the minimum for the order but really need to get more of those who wanted on the list originally to get back to us one way or the other. Sf and I are trying to see what we can do on our end. Persuading Wade into building them, even if we're shy a few headers from his minimum, is on that list.

Definitely on that page as well.

I do have a temp gun/gauge may look at using that to double check actual temp. Thanks

Definitely purged the air. One thing I make sure I do. Going to check wiring and grounds. I’m hoping new sensor/switch is not the culprit.

So here's one that has me a bit puzzled. Report of cooling system issue. Client claims smells coolant burning. On initial investigation, found a few hose clamps that did not seem to be tightened up as the others. Tightened them up and did a pressure test and viola, no leaks. Although I did not do the pressure test prior to tightening, but none the less every looked good. Second complaint, bike overheats. Hmm, OK possibly bad sensor. I tested the lead to the fan by shorting it to ground and it proved to work, switch did not. I'll replace it. Just for good measure, the thermostat too, in case it's not working correctly. Third complaint, wax idle unit not working. OK, here too I'll replace it. After replacing the 3 components, (T-stat, wax idle unit and sensor switch), I buttoned everything up and did another pressure test. Everything came back as good. I ran the bike, did a throttle body sync and let her warm up. Temperature went over 200F and still no fan trigger. I started to hear coolant overflow in the reservoir but again no fan. While it was in this high temperature level, I did the short to ground test on the fan wire and sure enough, fan came on. Am I missing something simple here? Other than a wire/connector not making contact, I don't know what else it could be. Had a long day up until the final temperature test so called it a day. I looked at the wiring diagram tonight to see how things are connected but have not double checked the bike yet. Anyway, figured I'd post up here in case someone else had and resolved this issue.

Hmm, I'll see if we might be able to go that route then. Need to discuss with SF. Cheers